Historically Black Colleges and Universities students have an opportunity to come to Hollywood by way of the Entertainment Industry College Outreach Program (EICOP) with the help of SAG-AFTRA and the White House.

The HBCU in L.A. summer internship program was introduced last year under the Obama administration and stems from many of former President Barack Obama’s initiatives, such as A Call to Arts and My Brother’s Keeper, which aim was to engage and mentor the next generation regardless of who they are or where they come from.

The internship program is the first program of its kind to take on Hollywood’s pipeline problem; the HBCUs in L.A. Internship Program inaugural class included White House HBCU All-Star students and a select group of the best, brightest and diverse student leaders from Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the nation

Stacy Milner, founder & CEO, Leveraging UP! And EICOP, stated, “we’ve already had our first class this summer and had 700 students from more than 50 HBCU students apply. So we’re excited that we will reach even more students during our new open enrollment”. She continued, “we hope that more students who are attend HBCU’s within the L.A. community will also apply for this program.”

Now, a year after its introduction and one intern summer program complete, the HBCU in LA Internship Program application process is now open again! This highly competitive program will be open to both undergraduate and graduate students with an interest to pursue a career in the entertainment, media, and communication industry. Selected Scholars will participate in an 8-10 week paid internship in Los Angeles, Summer 2018! The program will cover housing expenses and will offer limited travel stipends based on individual financial needs.

The program will provide students with an immersive, real world work experience designed to supplement their academic curriculum and prepare them for careers in the entertainment, media, and communications industries.

The purpose is to provide access and opportunity to student groups who have traditionally been underrepresented and meet the industry’s diversity goals of employing a workforce that is reflective of the communities it serves, according to leveragingup.org.

Scholars will have the opportunity to:

• Participate in a comprehensive immersion internship experience in Los Angeles, California during summer of 2018

• Participate in a series of professional development activities to help leverage a career in the media, entertainment, and the communications industry post-graduation

• Become a part of our exclusive Student Member Network for on-going employment consideration with our industry partner organizations

• Serve as Ambassadors for EICOP to build awareness for the HBCU in LA Internship Program

To apply and for more information visit www.eicop.org. The application deadline for the program is 11:59 pm PST on Sunday, December 17, 2017.